Contesting in the Galapagos

Trey Garlough, N5KO

[Meeting at Michael's at Shoreline; Reservations required]

Trey was first licensed 1974 as WN4KKN. To say he is an “avid contester” would be an understatement! Trey claimed the new single operator, all-band world record in his 1999 CQ WW CW contest performance. While he particularly excels at CW contesting, he can often be found dabbling in SSB and RTTY contests as well.

He has been on many famous DXpeditions:

• ZL9CI Campbell Is./Jan. 1999, TX0DX
• Chesterfield Is./March 2000
• 4W/N5KO East Timor/April 2000.

Even the casual contester certainly finds Trey in his logbook under many call signs: 6D2X, 7J7YAA, EA9UK, HC1OT, LU6ETB, K6O, KP2A, ON4UN, PJ9B and ZP0Y, among others.

Better Antenna Modeling through Advanced Computational Electromagnetics

Dr. Keith Snyder, KI6BDR

The use of computer modeling tools for antenna design has exploded. Most programs available today use one of three primary methods: the method of moments (MoM), finite element method (FEM), and finite difference time domain (FDTD). These methods permit the surface currents in a vehicle's skin to be modeled and their effect on antenna radiation pattern and impedance to be analyzed. In addition, the newer tools actually animate the time-variation of the electric and magnetic fields, thereby enabling an antenna designer to view the radiation process. A VHF antenna is modeled on a Humvee by using the program FEKO. FEKO uses the same general method of analysis as EZNEC, viz. the method of moments, but is more powerful. EZNEC is limited to wires and doesn't give fields or current animation. FEKO handles general surfaces and dielectrics. FEKO Lite is a free download that will get you started assuming you are proficient at antenna modeling with EZNEC.

After the Big One!

Dru Anderson, KG6LAD

Amateur Radio's role in providing communications for disaster relief efforts.

Text messaging with APRS

Andreas Junge, N6NU

Did you know your 2 meter FM transceiver can be used for sending and receiving text messages to or from other hams? That you can send messages while mobile that non-hams can read on their computers? The Advanced Packet Reporting System (APRS) permits sending packets that contain more than just GPS coordinates. In fact, GPS coordinates are optional; you can text message instead. Come and learn how to use these little known capabilities of APRS.

Field Day past and present

Discussion of Field Day plans.

Location Based Services

Chris Verbil, N5CV

Chris Verbil, N5CV on technology for location based services and new services that this technology makes possible.

Understanding HF Propagation and Prediction

Steve Stearns, K6OIK

We review the interesting propagation effects that govern HF band behavior, then launch into what propagation prediction programs do. Understanding how different programs work is necessary to being able to use such programs as operating aids. Imagine two neighbors, each of whom must decide what clothing to wear outside today. Neighbor A consults an encyclopedia to look up the climate of San José in July. Neighbor B consults a newspaper for today's weather forecast. Neighbor C looks at his outdoor thermometer. Similarly, different propagation prediction programs work by different methods, with different degrees of predictive accuracy. Come learn what freeware and shareware tools are available and what they can do.

Software Defined Radio

Kristen McIntyre, K6WX

Software Defined Radio, or SDR, replaces analog radio components with digital signal processing. Many believe SDR to be the future of radio. As computers increase in speed and power requirements decrease, what we used to consider impossible is becoming commonplace. SDR is on this path and this talk explores several aspects of this emerging technology which offers the promise of smaller, more flexible radios with characteristics not realizable with conventional circuitry. We look at what SDR is, how it's done, aspects of modulation/demodulation, adjacent signal rejection, power requirements and other topics.

Homebrew Contest

Bring your favorite Amateur Radio project to the meeting to share and describe to the audience. Share your experience and what you learned from it. The audience chooses the best three projects for prizes.

First Place $40, Second Place $30, and Third Place $20.

A portable dual band J-pole antenna

Ed Fong, WB6IQN

Ed talks about the theory and construction of a fully portable dual band J-pole which operates on VHF and UHF. The basics of this antenna was presented by him in the Feb 2003 issue of QST. The advantage of this antenna is that it can be rolled up and put into a large pocket until it is ready to use which makes it ideal for ARES. This portable version of the dual band J-pole will be featured in a coming QST.

You may want to read Ed's article on the design of his antenna (DBJ-2). An article on a previous version of this antenna (DBJ-1) is available on the ARRL web site.

Introduction to Baluns

Paul Zander, AA6PZ

Baluns are an important and often misunderstood component in RF transmission and measurement systems and circuits. However, not all baluns behave the same. The different kinds of baluns and their technical performance is described.

Goodies for the Ham Shack

Howard Califf, W6HOC
Store Manager
Ham Radio Outlet, Sunnyvale

Just in time for the holidays. Howard shows new and useful items for the ham shack - ranging from stocking stuffers to larger station accessories, and possibly some exciting new rigs.